When the USL Championship released its 2025 regular season schedule last winter, it’s a safe bet that Louisville City FC fans — and maybe more than a few of the club’s players — immediately circled Wednesday’s 8 p.m playoff rematch versus Rhode Island FC on their calendars.
LouCity’s 2024 season was record-setting and breathtaking. The club won its first Players’ Shield title in recognition of the USL Championship’s best regular season record. LouCity broke or equaled league records in wins (24), home wins (16) and games with four-or-more goals scored (10) while scoring a club-best 86 goals overall, the second-best mark in league history.
But it all ended prematurely with an Eastern Conference Semifinal exit at the hands of Rhode Island FC — the earliest playoff defeat in club history.
“Hopefully there’s no need for me to motivate the team,” LouCity head coach Danny Cruz said following his team’s 2-1 win last Saturday over the Tampa Bay Rowdies. “I think that’ll be more internal for the group.”
LouCity’s 2025 season has already been record setting, too. With a mark of 7-0-4 (25 points), Louisville is unbeaten through its first 11 league games this season, a new club record to open a campaign. Louisville also moved into first place in the Players’ Shield standings for the first time this season thanks to the Tampa Bay win.
Rhode Island FC (3-5-3, 12 points) hasn’t been the top tier team last season’s playoff run would’ve suggested they’d be — but the situation won’t be unfamiliar to Khano Smith’s group. Last season when Rhode Island visited Lynn Family Stadium for the first time in late June, the club had the same number of points (12) but with two fewer wins, and RIFC came away with a 5-2 win.
The expansion club was the only away team to take any points off Louisville City at Lynn Family Stadium all year.
“That loss in the playoffs last year stung,” LouCity forward Phillip Goodrum said. “There’s no other way around it, and everybody has a sore [sic] taste in our mouth. So, we owe them one.”
It might be just a Wednesday night in June, but there will be a lot more on the line than three points.
The game doubles as Youth Sports Night. Groups of 10 or more can get their team photo on the video board. For tickets and more information, visit LouCity.com/youth.
Follow Along
• The game will air live nationally on ESPN2, with local radio coverage on ESPN Louisville’s AM 680/FM 105.7. National radio coverage will air on SiriusXM FC channel 157.
• For Starting XI and in-game updates, follow @loucityfc on Twitter. Also, find the club at louisvillecityfc on Instagram and Louisville City FC on Facebook.
Story Lines…
Phil’s back(-to-back): LouCity forward Phillip Goodrum has scored in his last two appearances, versus Tampa Bay on Saturday and at Hartford on May 17. He missed two games in between those appearances. “It feels good to get right back into form (after missing games),” Goodrum said. He’s second on the team with three goals on the season.
Cam’s return: Cameron Lancaster made his third LouCity debut on Saturday, playing eight minutes off the bench against the Tampa Bay Rowdies. The 32-year-old is the club’s all-time leading scorer, and returned on loan from Lexington SC last month. It’s his third stint with the club. “Three weeks ago, (there was) no chance (that this could happen),” Lancaster said. “But I’m glad it did.”
Defense first: LouCity continues to boast the best defensive record in the USL Championship having conceded just six goals in the regular season. The club is on pace to concede 16 goals this year, which would be among the top 10 best defensive records in league history.
Winless: As the winningest club in USL Championship history, LouCity has beaten nearly every other club in the league at least once — all except Rhode Island. In addition to Rhode Island’s regular season and playoff wins at Lynn Family Stadium last year, the two clubs also played a 0-0 tie at Rhode Island last May.
Inefficient: Rhode Island has scored 10 goals in the USL Championship this season, tied for fourth-fewest in the league. That’s despite registering the sixth-most shots in the league (139).
Impresive résumés: Despite the relative lack of success this year, Rhode Island’s roster still features notable USL Championship players like 2023 MVP forward Albert Dikwa, forward J.J. Williams and midfielder Clay Holstad. All three scored against LouCity last season.
Battle of the Bluegrass?: The game will have a notable local college flavor. Rhode Island’s Williams, Holstad and Aimé Mabika each played for the University of Kentucky, as did LouCity’s Jansen Wilson. On the other end of the Commonwealth’s notable college rivalry, LouCity’s Josh Jones is a rookie out of the University of Louisville, while assistant coach Simon Bird also played for the Cardinals. Meanwhile, LouCity goalkeeper Ryan Troutman played for both the Wildcats and the Cardinals.
